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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29062872">Far from Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dean_naeD/pseuds/Dean_naeD'>Dean_naeD</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Far From Home [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship, F/M, Friendship, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:27:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,443</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29062872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dean_naeD/pseuds/Dean_naeD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Garrus and Shepard had never seen eye to eye almost on anything. She criticized everything the turian had stood and believed for, and her good girl scout attitude made him think twice before deciding to follow her to save the galaxy. Yet somehow, they both ended up fighting together for their right to survive against all odds.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Shepard &amp; Garrus Vakarian, Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Kaidan Alenko &amp; Shepard, Shakarian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Far From Home [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2132247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Risk it All</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Garrus, what do you think you’re doing up here?! I thought I told the guards not to let you in.” </p><p>
  <i>‘This is it, Vakarian.’ Garrus thought to himself as he caught his breath, clutching the datapad in hand. ‘Today is the day you finally speak out what you believe in, get fired, and end up letting your dad down and maybe, just maybe the whole family and the whole turian hierarchy down. At least C-Sec won’t get a chance to fire you because you’ll quit. This time. For good.’  </i></p><p>
  “Is he going to give us trouble?” Garrus immediately recognized the voice next to Executor Pallin. “The council is about to start and I don’t want any unnecessary distraction.” 
</p><p>If it were up to Garrus alone, he would have stormed right into Udina’s office and presented his findings on the criminal Saren and his actions on Eden Prime. But C-sec didn’t work that way. You’d need to fill out a thousand forms to bypass all his appointments just to have the damn politician’s secretary politely turn you down. Besides, Udina would want nothing to cooperate with the likes of him. Right now, Executor Pallin was his only chance even if time was running out. A slim chance, since he was already on his sour side.  </p><p>So, he knew better to keep his mouth shut. His boss might be an ass to deal with but he’d still rather trust him more than any politician.  </p><p>“There won’t be any delay whatsoever, Ambassador.” Pallin shot a glance at Garrus acknowledging his silence. “Proceed ahead to the podium.”<br/>
Udina walked away not long after looking through both of them with narrowed eyes.  </p><p>“At least you know when to keep silent.” </p><p>“It was out of respect for you, Executor. I could have told the ambassador about Saren but I knew he wouldn’t do anything about it.” </p><p>“No, he wouldn’t do anything about it because you have nothing concrete against Saren. And I suggest you start walking away now before you start embarrassing yourself. None of this mess concerns you, Garrus. This is my last warning.” </p><p>What a way to put the subordinate in his place. Fortunately, Garrus was getting used to Pallin’s takedowns from butting heads with him too many times in the past.  Still, he never blamed it all on Pallin. Pallin was just doing his job, and Garrus has always held his boss in high regard. But embarrassing himself was the last thing he cared about now that he was known among them as the hot-headed self-righteous cop who didn’t give a damn about the rules. He would’ve left the desk a long time ago if he wasn’t discouraged by his father from doing so. The longer he had worked in C-Sec, the more he had realized that there were more rules and regulations to let the criminals bide their time and escape than there were to catch them in their act and end them for good.  </p><p>He could come up with a list of thousand reasons right now to call it quits but none of them would let them leave with his honor intact. It would have left his father devastated and humiliated. They likely would have never spoken again. </p><p>But he wanted to risk it all. Just so he could do the right thing. He was going to ask something he shouldn’t just so he could sleep better knowing he did the right thing.  </p><p>“You’re right. I have nothing concrete to prove he was behind the Eden Prime attack.” </p><p>For a moment, Pallin drew a quick breath of relief before Garrus risked it all. </p><p>“But Saren’s hiding something!” Garrus raised his voice loud enough to have heads turned to them in the hall. “Give me more time, stall them.” </p><p>Pallin’s mandibles twitched as his eyes widened in shock at his subordinate.  </p><p>“Stall the Council?” Pallin retorted in disgust as he turned away. “Don’t be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus.”  </p><p>Garrus had expected an outcome far worse than this, where he would have been forced by Pallin to produce a resignation letter with his signature on it, followed by his father's imminent comm call the next day. But his plan worked. He never was looking forward to being the lone hero who somehow had managed to stall the Council since it would have made things worse in the long run. As he watched his boss’s quick retreat, Garrus knew he caught the attention of someone who would be willing to look into his investigation. Someone who would take his word without reminding him of the regulations of C-Sec every damn ten seconds. He had pulled an all-nighter reading every word included in her dossier, just so he could make sure that someone was her. He had read up on all the codex on human sayings from the extranet to convince her of his case the best way he could. </p><p>“Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren.” </p><p>“Sounds like you really want to bring him down.” </p><p>She heard everything he needed to say. This was a pretty damn good start.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Reckless and Heedful</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><i>“I don’t trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way.”</i> </p><p>Shepard would have believed the turian if she wasn’t getting stonewalled by the head of Citadel Security earlier, who told her team in the politest way to piss off on their first meeting. Executor Pallin – also a turian- loved pointing out how her species liked having their finger in every pie. His distrust of humans was apparent when they met again at the Citadel tower with him rather leaving her sight quickly.   </p><p>But Garrus Vakarian, who was seen arguing with the executor, had set his mind on finding out evidence against Saren. He was about to share his leads when the Council was about to begin. Yet, he was nowhere to be found when the hearing ended, probably disappointed with its results on finding no evidence of connection between Saren and the geth.  </p><p>He then set off his own to continue on with the investigation, and now she was stuck looking for him. </p><p>“There are a lot of C-Sec agents here stationed here at the presidium. Why did Anderson make us go and talk to that disgusting loser Harkin?!” Ashley clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. “I would’ve started bashing his skull the moment he started disrespecting you, Commander!” </p><p>Shepard sighed. Although she had to agree, there was no way she could have allowed Williams or herself to cause a scene at the gentleman’s club. It took all her strength to control her implants from flaring up at the man just so she wouldn’t lose the lead of Garrus, who was one of the few turian agents, courteous enough to inform her about Saren’s investigation. Alenko's silence spoke volumes, too, though she appreciated it more than Williams’s outburst. Dealing with Harkin felt like a hard-hit embarrassment to humanity, but they had to keep moving on. Plus, it seemed a better idea to keep a low profile with all the krogan bodyguards roaming around the club. </p><p>“Stay focused on the mission, Williams.” she demanded. “The faster we get to Dr. Michel’s clinic, the sooner we’ll get to get more info on Saren. If you need to cool your head, you’re welcome to head back to Normandy.” </p><p>“But-” Without waiting for Ashley's response, Shepard walked up to the transit hub and dialed for a shuttle. “Yes, Ma’am... Duly noted.” </p><p>“Commander Shepard is right, Chief.” Alenko stood before Williams. “We’re already getting ambushed left and right by Saren’s men. Besides no one else from C-Sec wouldn’t help us. That turian might be our only lead.” </p><p>“I know.” Williams groaned. “Still, wouldn’t hurt to let me land a hit on him back there. Wasn’t he getting under your skin, too? Him trashing our XO?” </p><p>“The point is, Shepard didn’t let scum like him get to her." he paused; his gaze lingering at Shepard. “She's got things under control.” </p><p>“You didn’t even try answering my question, L-T.” Williams chuckled. “She doesn’t have to find out you know. Just say the word on our next shore leave, and we’ll go back and kick his ass.” </p><p>“Are you two just gonna stand there?” Shepard was already inside the shuttle when they looked. “Let’s go.” </p><p>“Aye aye, ma’am!” </p><p> </p><p>                  ------------------------------------------                                                                     ------------------------------------- </p><p> </p><p>“What were you thinking?!” Both Ashley and Kaidan were taken aback by her voice as they exchanged glances. “You could’ve hit the hostage!” </p><p>“There wasn’t time to think!” He was fumbling. “I just reacted. I didn’t mean to_” </p><p>She knew that he had used her entry as a distraction for the thug who was holding the doctor hostage, then within a split-second, followed with a deafening gunshot to the thug’s head. If he’d have given her chance to talk the thug down, she or Alenko could have suspended him in mid-air with their biotics to pull the doctor away from them and let him take his shot.   </p><p>Before she could say more, the doctor collapsed into his arms. </p><p>“Dr. Michel, are you hurt?”  he asked, with concern in his voice while holding her. </p><p>“Give her a minute, she’s in shock.” She reached for a glass of water from a nearby counter and handed it to her. “Dr. Michel, how are you feeling?” </p><p>“No, I’m okay.” she smiled faintly, after taking a couple sips from the glass. “Thanks to you, all of you.” </p><p>“I know those men threatened you.” Shepard spoke her words softly. “But if you tell us who they work for, we can protect you.” </p><p>“They work for Fist.” Dr. Michel rose to her feet slowly, with Garrus’ help. “They... wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian.” </p><p>“What quarian?” Shepard asked, looking slightly puzzled. She hadn't met one in person and could only recall them from her mother's stories. “Was she here?” </p><p>Garrus quietly observed as Dr. Michel gave Shepard info on the quarian, who had been on the run from Saren’s agents. She had wanted to trade intel with the Shadow Broker in exchange for safety, and the doctor had recently sent her to Fist, who was one of the agents working for the Shadow Broker. </p><p>“Not anymore.” he quickly interjected. “Now he works for Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn’t too happy about it.” </p><p>The doctor shook her head. “Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That’s stupid, even for him. Saren must have made quite the offer.” </p><p>“That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get.” </p><p>Shepard nodded. The quarian had to be holding a key evidence that indicated Saren’s connections to the geth and their attack on Eden Prime. “She must have something that proves he’s a traitor. Doctor, did the quarian mention anything about Saren? Or the geth?” </p><p>“She did!” Dr. Michel replied. “The information she was going to trade, she said it had something to do with the geth.” </p><p>“She must be able to link Saren to the geth.” Garrus exclaimed. “There’s no way the Council can ignore this!” </p><p>“Thank you for your help, Doctor. <i>Garrus</i>.” He noticed her smile turned stiff as she gave him a pointed look. “Time we paid Fist a visit.” Shepard avoided his gaze as she ordered her team. Their first encounter had clearly started off on the wrong foot. </p><p>“Wait!” That was all he could say, and he was almost afraid she’d walk away without looking back. But thank the spirts, she didn’t. She waited for what he had to say.</p><p>“This is your show, Shepard.”  He spoke with determination. “But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I’m coming with you.” </p><p><i>‘Is he asking to join her team?’</i> She eyed him with suspicion. That sounded less like a request and more like an order. “I’m afraid I can’t.” she replied. “I don’t have the authority to sign on agents from the Citadel on the spot.” </p><p>“You don’t need one. There was talk of you becoming a Spectre during the Council meeting. If you expose Saren this time with evidence, no doubt they’ll instate you as one to go after him.”  </p><p><i>And what made him so sure the Council wouldn’t protect Saren this time?</i> “You’re not even gonna run it by your boss?” </p><p>“He won’t be able to do anything by then.” He sighed. There was a level of desperation Shepard noticed in his voice. “I... I want to make sure I see it through the end. Make sure Saren is caught once and for all.”  </p><p>“You’re a turian.” Shepard meant no disrespect but she needed to push a few buttons to see why he was being relentless in his pursuit of Saren. “Why do you want to bring him down?” </p><p>For a moment, his tone changed from desperation to frustration. “I couldn’t find the proof I needed in my investigation. But I knew what was really going on. Saren’s a traitor to the Council, and a disgrace to my people!” </p><p>“I can’t promise you anything.” His face was still unreadable as she did his best to study him. She still hadn’t believed him wholeheartedly. “But in the meantime, welcome aboard, Garrus.” </p><p>She received the nod of approval from him, only to find out it was his turn this time to push her buttons. </p><p>“You know, we aren’t the only ones going after Fist.” Garrus said pensively. “The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out.” </p><p>“Yeah, we saw him in the bar.” Ashley joined in. “Looked like he was ready to tear up the whole thing down if he didn't get what he wanted.” </p><p>“Yeah, that’s the last thing we need right now.” Shepard quickly mumbled under her breath. “Appreciate your suggestion, Garrus, but I think we can handle this on our own.” </p><p>“It’s your call, Commander. It wasn’t a suggestion. Just thought it might be something you’d like to know.” he loaded his rifle as he headed to exit. “I know the shortest way to Chora’s Den, but we gotta leave right now. We don’t have time.” </p><p>“Moving out.” her words trailed off when she realized the turian had left their sight. She felt like her head just had gotten split in two. </p><p>“Are you all right, Commander?” Alenko asked with a concerned look. </p><p>“No, but It’ll get worse if I don’t catch up to him soon.” She quickly retorted. “Alenko, I want you to stay with the doctor until things get settled down. We’ll rendezvous at Udina’s office." </p><p>Without waiting for the lieutenant's response, Shepard ran after the turian and just hoped things would turn out for the best.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Started out as writing practice so these might or might not turn out to be short stories. For now, just reliving the trilogy :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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